These are clearly young olinguitos—they are so tiny that they almost fit in the gentle hands of our conservation experts. Note the bright, curious eyes, and the nose, adapted for snooping out bits of fruit from the forest.

And of course, the olinguito’s feet are just darling! The photos show off the olinguito’s claws, used to traverse the trees of the cloud forests, and also the textured pads on the bottoms to better grip branches.

Close-up photo of baby olinguito. Photo by SavingSpecies/Juan Rendon.

As science-driven as SavingSpecies is, even we couldn’t help but be moved by these spectacular new photos, fresh from the field. It is a joy to know that we have been helping to protect this wonderful creature all this time. Enjoy the pictures, and please share them with your friends and family!